Risk and clinical implications of transformation of follicular lymphoma to diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

Purpose: To study the clinical significance of transformation to diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) in patients with follicular lymphoma (FL).

Patients And Methods: From 1972 to 1999, 325 patients were diagnosed with FL at St Bartholomew's Hospital (London, United Kingdom). With a median follow-up of 15 years, progression occurred in 186 patients and biopsy-proven transformation in 88 of the 325.

Presentation serum selenium predicts for overall survival, dose delivery, and first treatment response in aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Purpose: This study was undertaken to test the hypothesis that serum selenium concentration at presentation correlates with dose delivery, first treatment response, and overall survival in patients with aggressive B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Patients And Methods: The patients presented between July 1986 and March 1999 and received anthracycline-based chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or both. The total selenium content was retrospectively analyzed in 100 sera, frozen at presentation, using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.

Genome-wide analysis of acute myeloid leukemia with normal karyotype reveals a unique pattern of homeobox gene expression distinct from those with translocation-mediated fusion events.

Gene expression profiles were determined from presentation peripheral blood and bone marrow samples of 28 patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Hierarchical clustering sorted the profiles into separate groups, each representing one of the major cytogenetic classes in AML [i.e.

Mutations of CEBPA in acute myeloid leukemia FAB types M1 and M2.

CEBPA encodes the transcription factor C/EBPalpha and is specifically up-regulated during granulocytic differentiation. The gene is mutated in approximately 20% of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) FAB type M2 and occurs in the absence of the t(8;21). In much the same way as specific translocations are associated with a particular AML FAB type, the identification of non-random associations of gene mutation with karyotype or FAB type may be helpful in elucidating the molecular basis of certain forms of leukemia.

Comparative genomic hybridization and multiplex-fluorescence in situ hybridization: an appraisal in elderly patients with acute myelogenous leukemia.

Comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) and multiplex-fluorescence in situ hybridization (M-FISH) were used to evaluate the presentation karyotype in 15 and 18 patients respectively, aged >/=60 years, with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Conventional G-banded analysis was performed in all patients prior to evaluation. Comparative genomic hybridization confirmed the G-banded karyotype fully in 12 patients and partially in two patients.

Acute myelogenous leukaemia in older patients at St Bartholomew's Hospital: outcome with mitoxantrone and cytarabine.

Elderly patients (age >60 years) with AML who are selected for curative treatment frequently receive anthracycline/cytarabine containing regimens. The anthracendione mitoxantrone (MTN) in combination with cytarabine (Ara-C) produces comparable complete remission rates to other regimens and may be less toxic. Over a 12 year period, 75 patients (median age 67 years, range 60-83 years) referred with newly diagnosed AML were treated with MTN and ara-C.

The relative role of peripheral blood and bone marrow for monitoring molecular evidence of disease in follicular lymphoma by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction.

Peripheral blood (PB) and bone marrow (BM) are used interchangeably for t(14;18) (IgH/BCL-2) molecular monitoring in follicular lymphoma (FL) and detection of rearrangement after treatment has been correlated to increased risk of relapse. To determine the relative value of each tissue, MBR t(14;18) was quantified by real-time polymerase chain reaction in 52 simultaneous paired PB and BM samples from 38 FL patients. In total, 79% of sample pairs taken in remission (n = 19) or when no morphological disease was evident in the BM (n = 29) had t(14;18) copy number within one log difference and the median difference was small.

JH probe real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction assay for Bcl-2/IgH rearrangements.

Follicular lymphoma (FL) characteristically bears the t(14;18)(q32;q21). However, only approximately 75% of the consequent Bcl-2 breakpoints lie within the major breakpoint region (MBR) or the minor cluster region (mcr). While these can be quantified by cluster region-specific real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RQ-PCR), a significant proportion of cases are left requiring a customized approach.